Hey, Impressive Chessers! Let’s set the stage. You’re playing a game you’re sure your coach will be proud of. You’re not only looking at all the cool moves you can play but also countering everything your opponent throws ...
Chess is a game that inspires passion, discipline, and creativity. For Kincső Tóth, it’s been a lifelong journey filled with trophies, challenges, and connections. In today's interview, Kincső reflects on her chess beginnings, her vic...
Many of us have heard, lived, shunned, or dodged the term ADHD—Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. We’ve all witnessed that energetic kid who disturbs the class and struggles to sit...
Applications Now Open for Chessable Research Awards 2025 Cycle Chessable, the leading online chess learning platform and part of Chess.com, is now accepting applications for the 2025 cycle of the Chessable Research Awards. Undergraduate and gr...
What Is Blumenfeld’s Rule? First shared by the Soviet master B. Blumenfeld and popularized by authors like Alexander Kotov in Think Like a Grandmaster, the rule advises: When you have finished your calculations, write down the move you ...
If you play the French Defense with Black, there is a chance that you’ve come across this weird move 3. Be3, leading to the Alapin Gambit. It’s strange because White is sacrificing the central e4-pawn and awkwardly tucking the bishop b...
#viennagambit #brilliant #romantic #fun Happy New Year everybody! I’ve just finished a very lovely block of annual leave of almost four weeks! Before Christmas, we had a few days away in Bundeena chilling on the beach and doing a ...
I got home Sunday (Jan 5) late night from Charlotte, NC, where I was fortunate to be part of the arbiter team of the 2025 PanAms organized by the Charlotte Chess Center! Read my reflections here, here and here! Back at work on Monday and I got a...
Why does classical ballet training in Russia emphasize developing perfect technique from a very young age (3-5 years old)? I pondered this question as I started a workout at my local gym - my first workout in far too long - following through on ...
Hey there! Happy New Year! 🎉 I hope you’ve set your chess New Year resolutions thoughtfully! Mine? I want to build a solid opening repertoire so I don’t spend too much time navigating the early moves during a classical game. I&r...
Kia ora, dear readers! Welcome to my first blog of 2025! Before anything else, I hope you are all having a great start to the year. Once again, I will try my best to post twice a month until the end and keep you entertained with different conten...
For the past 3.5 years I've been writing a memoir. The difficult process of unearthing, reliving, and ultimately putting to paper the wild (and frequently traumatic) stories of my life has been unlike any other experience I’ve had. Now, the ...
Chess tournament requires proper preparation to ensure you're ready to perform at your best. These three steps will help you: 1. Polish your openings: Review the most common lines and work on fixing mistakes and inaccuracies. You should understa...
The 2024 Chessable Research Awards had five student winners, including Julia Engel, the author of this guest blog post. With the gender gap in leadership remaining an important area of study in economics, Engel uses chess, specifically Chess.co...
As part of this new way to document all the fun stuff I'm doing as a chess arbitress, I would like to discuss some of the cases and rulings that happened at the event.This will be the last part of the series I posted about the 2025 PanAms that hap...
When you think about chess in 2024, who comes to mind? Several players were in chess news very prominently last year. This is a test to see how many you know by just looking at their photos. Who are these chess players? (Photo credits below.) ...
King against King and Rook, King and Bishops against King and Queen and King against King. When You start to study chess, the first thing you should do, is to familiarize yourself with the power of the pieces. This can best bedone by le...
Strengths Identify what you’re good at and how to leverage it during games: Strong Tactical Skills: Are you great at spotting tactics and combinations? Focus on sharp openings and middlegames to maximize your strength. Positiona...
Should Beginners Play the Sicilian Defense? Let’s talk about one of the most popular openings for Black: the Sicilian Defense. It’s a big name, right? You see it in all the grandmaster games, and it’s played at every level of ch...
Today I had a coaching session with Dave and we analyzed one of his games. I think it was a nice example which showed how to win with an open file, so I decided to annotate and share it with You. Open file and penetration squares When there ...
Interactive Chart If you’re between 30 and 45, you may have been introduced to Settlers of Catan (now just CATAN) in college. I was. It was that modern “gateway game” that redefined what a board game could be. Who could f...
As the chess world celebrates the arrival of a new year, what will be the major events that will capture our attention in 2025? So that you can be prepared for all that will happen, here is what you can anticipate. Be ready for them: FIDE Will...
Your chess style is your personal approach to the game. Knowing your style helps you choose openings that suit your strengths and improve your weaknesses. 1. Aggressive and Tactical Players Overview Aggressive and tactical players lov...
Yesterday I played a game that involved a great combination. You are a lucky viewer that will witness my 5000-IQ moment. Enjoy Congratulations! You have made it the end! Any questions, comments, feel free to leave it below. *Looking ...
Hey Impressive Chessers! I'm back and ready to keep you impressive in 2025! Today, I want to share a position that could’ve easily arisen from a 3|0 game I played on chess.com. Even in blitz, where the time is always ticking, certain criti...
